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 Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 5:13 pm
As far as Sewti was concerned, there really was no better life than this.
She could spend her whole day lazing in the sun and not a single pride member would think she was doing anything less than her duties required of her. It was odd, the ideas of this pride, but she wouldn't knock them - where else was she going to find such a great station in life? She had a wonderful mate (though some might argue her sanity for being with him) and cubs that were grown and taking care of themselves - another reason to be happy.
Sewti chuckled to herself as she rolled over in the sand, careless of the fur sticking to her fur. Somewhere down the beach she could hear Kisi bickering with someone - maybe she was calling her. As far as Sewti was concerned though, she was content right where she was.
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 5:20 pm
It had been a long trek. Idril was tired, hot, dusty and above all, itchy. She was certain that that last brute she'd been with had given her fleas to go along with the cubs he'd inflicted on her. Well, at least all but one of the cubs had gone with him. As for her remaining son, she wasn't entirely certain where he'd gone to. She knew he had to be around though. Probably taking a nap under one of the numerous bushes hereabouts.
Sitting and scratching irritably at her jaw with a hind claw, Idril sighed. She could smell water. And an odd salty tang. Now normally she loathed getting wet, but given the state of her fur and how badly she itched, she was willing to brave the water in the hopes it would drown the tiny plague that seemed to enjoy her taste.
She spied a strip of pale land faced with the biggest expanse of water the lioness had ever seen in her life. Without a second thought, she ran for the water and the implied soothing it would be sure to give her skin.
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 5:32 pm
Somewhere down the beach, Kisi's insistent babble had become a terrified squawking. Normally Sewti would have just ignored the klipspringer but something about this sudden terror in her unintelligible voice seemed to signal that something was wrong. Sure, Kisi still wasn't that great around the lions in the pride, but she was never quite that annoying.
Sewti popped open an eye and lolled her head back to look in Kisi's direction, just in time to see a blur of white whiz past her. She rolled onto her belly quickly and narrowed her eyes in concentration - her eyes told her this was no member of the pride, even if she didn't appear to actually be heading for Sewti's squawking companion.
"Hey, hey, hold on a second!" She pushed herself to her feet with a sigh, not bothering to shake off the sand, and began to lumber after the stranger. "You're on pride lands, good lady." It wasn't said with an accusing tone, just an informative one. Still, if she proved to be trouble, Sewti was definitely the sort who could take care of it. Her pride might be peaceful, but she had been given one of the most pushy positions and had grown up outside the lands herself. It was her duty to protect her less inclined fellows.
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 5:38 pm
Idril ignored the klipspringer. Hunger could wait when she was so close to bathing and feeling CLEAN for the first time in days! She barely registered the other lioness or her words. Still, manners dictated that she at least stop and try to be civil.
With a longing glance at the water (SO. CLOSE.), she turned and faced the other, not bothering to hide her twitching tail and skin. Or the frequent, gazes towards the water. In a sulky voice, she answered as politely as she could under the circumstances.
"Pride lands? What pride lands? I just want to have a bath!"
With a sigh, she emitted a frustrated sound somewhere between a growl and a whimper and then turned to gnaw on her hind leg. Damn fleas!
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 5:48 pm
Sewti chuckled unabashedly at the complaints and chewing, amused with the lioness that had stumbled into the lands. It had happened before - the ocean drew in a lot of other creatures.
"Well, I'm not sure the ocean is a great bathing spot. Good for getting rid of debris but it can make the fur sticky and hard from all the saltiness." She knew because Nili never ceased to complain about it. Her tail twitched behind her as she considered the female for a few moments, trying to decide if it was a good idea to welcome her or not. She didn't seem as if she would cause too much trouble, really.
"These are the lands of the Kizingo'Zaa, a very interesting group of lions to be sure. I'm the Protector here, responsible for making sure no harm comes to the others of the pride." She shrugged a little and the smile on her face seemed to suggest that she didn't really think there was imminent danger at the moment. "I can show a fresh water source that would be much better than this for a bath if you were interested, but I'd have to make sure we were clear on a few rules about the pride first."
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 5:54 pm
White ears pricked forward. Salt water? Who'd ever heard of such a thing? Still, the lioness before her seemed to know what she was talking about. And if this lioness was a protector for these lands, it would behoove Idril to be on her best behaviour. However difficult that might be at the moment.
"Pleased to meet you, I'm sure and I don't particularly want to hurt anything except the fleas that seem to think lion is tasty."
She paused again to scratch at her ear, her expression one of long suffering mingled with an almost comical hope the second fresh water was mentioned.
"Oh yes, please! At this rate, I'll do whatever you ask of me short of marrying you! Lead on!"
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:06 pm
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well," she said finally as she became completely convinced of this female's nature, "I'm Sewti. I also think my mate would be rather irritated if I required such a payment, so you're free from that." She was chuckling as she turned back towards the jungle at this point.
She started slow so the female would know to follow, then picked up her pace as she started over the dunes. "First and foremost, these lands are a sanctuary to all. We don't allow violence within the borders and we will protect any who step within them so long as they follow our rules, no questions asked of their past." She flicked her tail a little and turned to look at the female as she walked. "So just behave and I won't have to kick you out, okay?"
They were reaching the jungle's line at this point and she stopped here, hesitating a moment. "Also, uh, the pride believes in muses. They talk to various things in nature." Sewti hadn't quite figured it out since she herself didn't hear the voices, though her mate assured her they spoke. "If you stay here long enough, you'll here them to - that's my warning." Then she broke the treeline and started to make her way along a well-worn path, at least to lion's eyes.
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:14 pm
"I'll be on my best possible behaviour. But how on earth do you hunt and eat if you everything here is protected?"
Idril was too busy watching her guide to take in much of the beauty of the place. She's have to tell the other female about her son at some point. Just in case he came wandering through. Really, where had he vanished too?
She half listened as Sewti explained about muses. Well, she'd never heard of muses, but she had to assume that if gods and spirits could exist why not muses? Though it seemed odd that being able to hear them was based around how long one stuck around.
"Hrmmm. Thank you for the warning, I suppose. I'm Idril by the by. And my son is probably frolicing about somewhere around. I'm not entirely certain, so if you find a little white cub, don't be too hard on him?"
Really, for Idril that last was positively maternal. After all, it wasn't as if she hated her son. She simply didn't have a lot of thought to spare for him usually.
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:37 pm
"Well, we hunt and eat as a requirement of our nature. We protect others lions, though, and the.. greater muses." She still got a small laugh at referring to prey or other big cats as muses, but whatever this pride liked was fine with her. It was a fine life. "The pride has a few quirks, but it's a good life here."
She was busily making her way down the path through the jungle, the scent of the ocean still in the air but growing weaker as they went deeper in. "A cub, hmm? I don't think a cub would probably be that much trouble, but I'll certainly tell the other pride members to keep a look out for him. I wouldn't want him getting into trouble with any of them before he knows better."
She stopped as the jungle gave way to a clearing, a watering hole sparkling in the bits of sun that came down through the canopy. "You can clean up in there, that water is fresher than the ocean. I'll head back to the pride and let them know you're here, alright? And, of course, to tell them about the boy."
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:42 pm
Idril smiled. It was a wide smile. Had it been any wider, the top of her head might've fallen off. Without waiting another moment, she ran to the wter and leapt in, sending a spray of water into the air and soaking almost everything nearby. As she splashed and dove and bathed, she called out to Sewtri in a muffled voice.
"A thousand blessings upon you and your family! And thank you!"
She would have said more, had a feeling that she needed to, but the delicious sensation of being clean took over her mind and she rolled and played like a kitten even as she drowned the little insect plague who'd tormented her so. She's find Sewti once she was done with her bath and make a proper thanks then.
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:47 pm
Sewti laughed, yet again, as the lioness wizzed past her and leapt into the watering hole. It was a small thing to take fresh water for granted and Sewti wasn't sure she'd ever seen anyone more excited to see it - save for poor cubs who swallowed too much of the sea on accident.
"I'll see you when you're done then, enjoy yourself!" She had a pleased smile on her face as she turned and headed away down a different path than the one they had been on before. She shook her head slowly as she recalled the female, amused, and was already thinking of finding Nili to tell him.
First things first though - she needed to tell her nephew that there were newcomers.
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